Kindle Notes & Highlights
We also find the virgin being referred to as a whore, which means a prostitute. This is a pejorative term today but long ago, before the idea of property became the cornerstone of human culture, it simply meant a woman who was free to go to any man. She was like the earth that accepts seeds from all plants freely; she was no field where the farmer controls the sowing and claims the harvest.
if one is able to achieve urdhva-retas, reverse movement of semen up the spine towards the head, one can get siddhi, magical powers to control nature, even outsmart death.
The Puranas refer to Gandharva-vivah, where women chose their lovers, alongside Asura-vivah, where women were bought, Rakshasa-vivah, where women were abducted, and Pisacha-vivah, where women were made pregnant while they slept.
Narayana here is our sleeping mind, Vishnu is our awakened mind, while Brahma is our partially awakened mind. Madhu and Kaitabha are our thoughts emerging from the partially awakened mind. These are our negative thoughts, hence asuras, commonly (though incorrectly) identified as demons. Positive thoughts, come to be known as devas, commonly (though incorrectly) identified as gods.
In this narrative, Ravana can be seen as Brahma, Ram as Vishnu and Hanuman as Shiva.
Sita is the Goddess.
Brahma is the human mind that misbehaves. Shiva is the human mind that vehemently rejects this misbehaviour. Vishnu is the human mind that does not condone this misbehaviour, yet understands it.
It is Kali who domesticates the hermit Shiva and in the process gets domesticated herself as Gauri.
Her unbound hair reveals that she is still wild like Kali, but her nose-ring reveals she is domesticated like Gauri.
in Hinduism, the undesirable is also considered valid and given due dignity. She who causes fever, pox and skin rashes is worshipped as a goddess: she is considered a part of nature, an undesirable part of nature, but nature nevertheless.
Shakti embodies energy that is natural, while Durga embodies power that is cultural.
The lion is the alpha carnivore, on top of the food chain. But even the lion does not attack the elephant, which is much bigger. The elephant has no natural predator, and unlike the lion, it feeds every day. That is why the elephant is most closely associated with Lakshmi.
we need devas, who then become ‘gods’, as their actions favour humanity. Asuras become ‘demons’ as they resist sharing Lakshmi with humanity.
Lakshmi comes and goes on a whim, but can be held in place using force and cunning. Saraswati comes only with great effort, but once she comes she does not leave.
Amongst Tamilians, a household dominated by a woman is called Madurai (temple-town of the Goddess), while a household dominated by a man is called Chidambaram (temple-town of God).
There is no corresponding half-male form of Devi. This makes sense only when we appreciate the symbolic meaning of God and Goddess as mind and nature. The mind cannot exist without nature, but nature can exist without the mind.
we find stories of Vishnu himself turning into an enchantress called Mohini to seduce not just asuras but also Shiva. Thus is born their son variously named Sastha or Aiyanar.
